The Optimally Sub-optimal Training Log

Training Over 35 Lifter
81

Definitely appreciate the sentiment on bodyweight. In another life, I’m a 308lb powerlifter, but I had to make the decision NOT to live that life in the here and now. Every choice has a consequence. That said, a big thing for me is to appreciate/understand strength to be more than simply amount of weight lifted for a single rep on a barbell. As I’ve aged and bodyweight has dropped, my focus has shifted to amount of effort employed in training, and from there I can watch my strength grow. I may not be able to move the same amount for a single on the strict press now compared to when I was 30lbs heavier, but the amount of weight I CAN move while under deep fatigue, on any given day, late in a session, etc etc, has become incredible.

I change movements, rep ranges, session order, etc etc. There’s ALWAYS a way to PR and get stronger. Weight, reps, sets, bar speed, rest times, degree of fatigue, etc etc.

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82

For sure. I still sometimes get the urge to go for it and put on weight to see what I can still get to, but I have to admit I definitely feel better where I am, so it’s not worth it for me right now.

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83

This is something I knew when I was younger, whether consciously or not. I forgot when I got into powerlifting and focused too much on 1RMs, but I’ve come back around and rarely do any 1RMs anymore.

This is one of the reasons I switched to trap bar deadlifts. I had no idea where my strength should be for it, so everything was a PR. I’ve also focused more on rep PRs. I keep the same outlook for runs - PRs at different body weights, ice vs pavement, distance, etc.

If my strength/size can keep creeping up, even slowly, while my conditioning also increases a bit, I’ll be happy.

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84

Training over the past couple of weeks has been pretty good. Went 5, 3, 3 on trap bar deadlifts last week (RPE around 8-9), my shoulders and hips are feeling pretty good (need to keep working on my knees, though), and my runs have been at a sub 9 min/mile pace.

My family and I took off for a couple days last week, so I didn’t train at all for about 5 days. Usually, the first day or two that I miss scheduled training sessions are mentally tough, I’m usually settled in and good for a day or two after that, and then by the 5th day I’m back to looking forward to training. All in all, though, it was relaxing.

The bad thing is, and this is an issue I’ve always had, any kind of break sets me back from a strength standpoint. I went to do trap bar deadlifts yesterday and despite doing 405 just the week before, I got up to 330 and it felt really heavy, so did 3 reps and moved on. I’ve never been able to figure out the reason. I didn’t take any more or less time between deadlift sessions and my recovery should have been high with the extra sleep and low workload. We’ll see how things go next week.

The biggest thing I’m tossing around in my head right now is running/conditioning. My pace is almost where I want it, which is good. I think I’ll be able to stick with just running once or twice per week. I’m also thinking about adding in prowler pushes one other day to attack conditioning from a different angle. If that works well, I may look at some complexes once per week, but that’ll wait to see how my recovery is after adding the prowler.

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85

I don’t have an answer for the strength decrease. I have days like that and if I push through then I’ll show myself that I just feel like crap but the strength is there. And then there are days where I can’t push through. Yesterday was one on those (I’m trying to deload).

I would guess that we need to keep the body primed if we want to maintain performance. We need to use it and do something difficult. Otherwise, it seems to relax or forget what to do. Part of getting stronger is convincing the body that it’s safe to use its strength. The GTOs limit our output so we don’t hurt ourselves and training reduces that effect which allows us to move more weight.

The GTO thing is proven science. The rest is just me guessing. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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86

Yeah, I think you’re on to something. There’s no way it’s an actual loss of strength - not after 1 week and with the same time between deadlift sessions.

Here’s my total guess: maybe it has something to do with fibre type or neural-something-or-other. I’ve always been better at strength-endurance than max strength.

It’s really strange, but the strength comes back after a week or two.

87

Thank goodness for this! I’m sure my body is going to act like it has no clue what I’m doing this week when I start my next 5/3/1 cycle.

88

Had a running consult with the head trainer in our fitness unit here at work. As far as running goes, he knows what he’s talking about, having run track in the past and currently runs marathons. The other nice thing is he’s huge into strength work for runners and is “big” for a runner at about 5’10" 180. He also only runs 3x per week, so not someone who’s going to say you need to run 5 days/week.

My main concern was just not feeling “natural” as a runner, running “heavy,” and worried that if I’m not running properly, I could be doing more harm than good.

The result - I’m actually not as bad as I thought.

As far as running heavy, at 215, I am heavy for a runner. On top of that, though, I have a habit of looking down when I run. It’s probably a result of spending all winter running on snow and ice, and currently running on roads/sidewalks/trails all in the same run, so always watching my footing. I need to work on standing up taller and looking forward more.

The issue with foot strike and technique inconsistency has a lot to do with my tendency to over stride. I need to shorten up my stride length, increase my step cadence, and keep my feet under me.

The last suggestion, which I already knew, was that I’m almost due for new shoes. I’ve got about 300 miles on my current ones, so right where shoes start to wear out. Being heavier, mine will likely wear out near this point. This is a tough one, because I hate spending money on running shoes (new belt or new chucks, though = no problem :slight_smile: ).

We’ll see how I feel after a couple weeks working on this.

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89

That doesn’t leave much hope for the future!! I didn’t train at all through most of my 30’s and got back in the gym in my early 40’s. I am stronger now than I was in my 20’s. I don’t think age is a barrier until you get a lot older. You just need to adjust your training and recovery to suit.

90

I have seen a similar issue if I do a light deload week. I assume that is it mostly mental and just that one week break of not having the feel of heavy weight is enough to make it seem too hard a week later. I have had good results with keeping my weights on the deload week high but my volume much reduced. that doesn’t help for when you have a week off though, no idea how to fix that other than to man up !

91

It’s not all that crazy (or negative) to think you peaked in strength when you were in your physiological prime. I’ll omit competitive lifters for this general principle.

From the few logs I follow, I see the same things - PRs or matched PRs followed by a decrease due to a change in lifting focus or life in general. They pursue a new priority, get that close to old PRs, and then repeat the cycle. I don’t see people our age getting stronger and stronger.

One approach for progression is reps. Pwn is definitely doing this but I’ve noticed it with my deadlift training, too. My ability to do 400ish pounds for reps is better now than ever, but my 1RM isn’t at its peak. Depending on how you view it, I’m stronger than ever or I’m weaker than my peak.

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92

I think I agree with you here. I think that you have the potential to be at your strongest when you are in your physiological prime. But there are other factors at play. If you don’t train at that time then you wont take advantage of your prime and therefor seem to be stronger later. Also the question I would ask is when is your prime with regards to strength ? 20’s 30’s 40’s 50’s ?? If you are Mark Felix maybe 70’s LOL

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93

@Frank_C @simo74

For me, it’s a combination of training in one way or another since I was 12/13 without more than a week or two off, so for 28 years, age, and shifting priorities.

Training for this long is bound to leave its mark. I think when people hit their peak is going to be largely dependent on when they started and if there were long periods of time off. I heard somewhere that when you see 60 or 70 year olds breaking world records, a lot of times they didn’t start lifting until later on life. They may be the same age, but have a lot less training stress built up.

Also when you look at pro athletes, most peak in their late 20s and are done by their early 30’s. It’s only the rare athlete that can make it past 35. Injuries building up are one thing, but as they get older, they tend to lose a step. It’s just natural.

Shifting priorities and responsibilities are also a big one. I’m not willing to go up to 230 lbs again, I have 2 kids, and get about 5.5 hrs of sleep 5/7 days. I’m also less and less willing to train through pain. I’m not training for anything and I want to be training for another 50 years.

Like @Frank_C said, I can still hit rep PRs, it’s the 1RM PRs that are getting scarce.

When all’s said and done, when I look around at “normal” 40 year olds, I’m not doing too bad. The tough thing is to not compare myself now to my younger self.

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94

Jumping in here to provide a quick training update.

I’m currently back doing the Jay Cutler high volume program I did at the beginning of the year. There’s no magic in there and the set up isn’t much different than what I was doing, but for some reason I feel it differently and I’ll be a little sore for a day or two after. I can’t put my finger on what it is, maybe it’s just a placebo effect because of the name :smiley: The only part I’m not doing right now is the leg day - see below.

Two big changes I’ve made have to do with leg training and conditioning. My quad tendon area has been a little sore for a long time. Not bad, just annoying, especially in the morning. I have noticed it gets worse when I’m training legs hard with things like squats and lunges, though. I want to get back to training legs hard, but don’t want to limp for days after, so I’ve decided to take a step back now in order to make training better in the future. Here’s the plan:

  • No complete rest or time off. Tendons are strengthened through load and while time off can make them feel better, a lot of time needs to be spent building them back up afterwards in order to tolerate training loads. Mine aren’t debilitating or inflamed, so complete rest isn’t needed.
  • Backwards sled drags every training session. Nothing crazy, just built into my warm up.
  • Leg day consists of sleds, split squats, toe touch step downs (like a reverse step up, except you don’t step fully onto the ground. Once your toe touches, you go back up), hamstring curls, RDLs.
  • For the lunges and step downs, it’s only done through a pain free ROM. Starting with front foot elevated split squats with BW and loading/increasing ROM from there, and low box/low weight step downs.
  • In the next couple of weeks, will be adding in BW squats and goblet squats.
  • Working on mobility

The idea is to work through a 0 pain ROM and increase when possible, slowly increasing the load on the tendon to build up strength.

For conditioning, I’ve stopped running for now. The main reason is there is a lot of eccentric stress in the tendons when running, which doesn’t help with my above plan. I’ll see how things feel in a month and considering adding it back in then.

If anyone reads this and has any thoughts, let me know!

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95

No thoughts but good luck with the tendon!

96

Things went really well the couple of weeks. Legs were feeling better than they have for awhile and leg day has actually been better than I thought it would be. Sled pushes/drags and the other exercises I’m doing are unique for me, so have actually been fun.

I’ve also decided it’s time for a little cut. The weather’s getting nice, but I’m not quite in “take my shirt off anywhere but my own backyard,” condition. I weighed in at 218 this morning, so the goal will be to drop 8 -12 lbs in the next two months, maintain that until September, then slowly build back up again. I’m hoping to get closer to the 12 lb range, so I have a little buffer, but I’ll go more off the mirror than scale. I’ll be starting around 2800-2900 cals/day the first week or two and adjust from there as necessary.

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97

Another update time.

I’ve been in around the 2800-2900 cal/day mark and I’m down to 213. Another 5-8 lbs to go and I should be in a good spot for summer.

Training’s been going really well. Still using Cutler’s high volume program and I’m loving it. The only difficulty right now, is I switched positions at work, so while I used to be in the same building as the gym, I now have to travel. This means my actual workout has to be around 40 mins. Mobility work and abs need to be done at home and I haven’t been able to add in any runs. The good thing with the program is the short rests sure tax the conditioning and as weight isn’t the goal, an extensive warm up isn’t really needed.

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98

Things are still moving well. Dropped calories down to 2700-2800 and hit 211.8 lbs. Missed two training days though, because of work, so doubled up on Friday. It was just shoulders and arms, so low stress. Still, bumped up calories that day to around 3000.

The good thing about my new position is my daily step count is up, which is helping me keep calories higher.

The goal is 4 more weeks max. That will put me around a 8 week cut. Then it will be around maintenance for the rest of the summer and I can start putting weight back on in September and get a good 8-9 month gain phase before cutting next summer.

I’ll see where my weight is mid week and decide where to go from there and if I need to drop calories lower.

Couple interesting things:
-despite a calorie deficit and reduced rest times between sets, my reps/weights are still going up.
-in the past, at this weight, my wife would comment that I was looking skinny or sick, but not this time around. Maybe I’m holding more fullness due to higher calories or because I haven’t had to do any cardio.

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99

Didn’t realize it’s been a month since I posted an update.

The last month has gone really well. Hit 210 for a couple days, but generally staying around 211. Not surprising, because I haven’t dropped any more calories and have stayed in the 2700-2800 range.

I had originally planned on getting down to about 207-208, but I’m not sure about it right now. I’m finding my current calorie level is really easy to hit and I’m in decent enough shape. It’s a nice balance, where I can have ice cream or pizza with the family and not have to explain why I’m passing up on it, but still take my shirt off at the beach. The one down side is I’m just borderline where I’d like to be, as far as leanness, so I can look really good one minute, but then if I eat or drink the wrong thing, a couple hours later I can smooth right out and look 5 lbs heavier, while weighing the same. I don’t have any buffer room.

The other good thing is my training is still going really well. There hasn’t been any drop off in performance and I’m still getting more reps or weight each session.

I think the plan for the rest of the summer is to stay around where I am. If I lose another lb or two, great, but as long as I don’t gain, I’ll be happy, especially if my training continues to be improving.

On a side note, did my fitness test at work last week and got in the top ranking bracket (there’s fail, pass, bronze, silver, gold, gold 100). That’s without having done any running or cardio in the past two months and having trained with a hypertrophy focus for the past couple of years. I managed 17 strict pull ups and a 3:51 plank without having done either of these exercises since last fitness test. I guess bro-split “bodybuilding” training isn’t that bad.

I would like to bring in some running again, but my current job doesn’t give me enough time to do it during my lunch break and I’m not doing it on my time off, so it’s on hold right now. We’re getting a treadmill and bike in the building here soon, so I may try to get a bit in before work a couple times/week.

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100

Time for another update - a lot changed over the past month and a half.

Starting with my cut. I know in my last post I talked about staying around 210/211, but I took a look at my eating and realized I was falling victim to the old “chip here and there” which was adding calories I wasn’t tracking. I decided to see what would happen if I tightened things up and immediately dropped another couple of pounds. Seeing the scale move was awesome, but even better was most of my visceral fat was getting used up and the subcut fat was starting to come off, which made better visual changes.

I decided to keep pushing and over the weeks I slowly dropped calories down to 2350. Just this past weekend, I hit 200 lbs (hit 199.8 once) and a 32.5" waist, both of which are numbers I haven’t seen in years.

Now, though, I’ve decided to pull out of the deficit. For one, summer’s pretty much over here, but almost more importantly, I’m not sure why I would keep cutting, apart from just for the sake of cutting. I think if I lose too much more, I’ll get into the territory where I look great without a shirt, but look small the rest of the time. I’ve also been lucky to have gained strength through most of the cut, but in the last couple of weeks, that really slowed down. I’m at the point, I think, where I risk losing muscle just to see the scale/size go down.

I’m upping my calories to 2800 to start and see where that takes me. The new goal is to put on about 1-2 lbs per month, up to 210-212 and see where that puts me. That should take about 6-10 months, if I’m conservative, which is a decent bulking time frame and would leave me with a short cut, if I want at that point.

As for training, we finally got our gym at work a couple weeks ago, so I’m really happy about that. Nothing compared to my last gym, but we have a squat rack, dumbbells up to 80, chinup/dip station, benches, fat bar, and a couple KBs. I wish we had a cable station, but that’s more of a luxury than necessity.

A couple of weeks ago, I changed my split to upper/lower/upper/lower/arms. The volume is the same as before, but splitting it up like think allows me to superset more exercises and lengthen the time between sets. I can still get done quickly, but get better recovery between sets of the same exercise. It also allows me to have two dedicated leg days, which is something that has been lacking for a long time.

My leg training has sucked since the start of Covid, with shut downs, running, knee pain, short training sessions, etc. With two leg days, I can have a squat and deadlift day and I’m using 5/3/1 for those in order to get my strength back. I’m not doing 5/3/1 at all for upper body and sticking to bodybuilding training instead.

Now that things have stabilized more at work and with training, I’m hopefully going to be able to post updates more regularly.

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